FULL COVERAGE
Samantha Murray Greenway gets packing for a winter holiday with some refreshed swimwear.
I’ve rarely had my mind so radically changed about a piece of clothing as when I recently went shopping for swimwear. If you’re planning, booking or heading off on holiday this winter, chances are that togs will find their way onto your packing list. And if you discover, as
I did, that your sole swimsuit has finally lost its stretch, then you might find yourself holed-up in a changing room with a helpful sales assistant passing you things that you would never choose for yourself.
I had considered myself a one-piece woman, largely because swimsuits allow you to be active without fear of a wardrobe malfunction. But my mind has now been opened to the beauty of the big knicker bikini.
Fashions in swimwear come and go and, after a few years of thong bikinis (which have become symbols of empowerment for many of the women who choose to proudly wear them), we’re seeing the emergence of full coverage bikini bottoms, too.
“It goes both ways,” says Emma La Rocca, founder of Papamoa-based, NZ-made, zerowaste swimwear label Emroce. “There’s an acceptance of showing off completely, with no coverage and being happy with your body. And there are also people who want to cover up more.”
Maybe they don’t want so much exposure to the sun, maybe they feel more comfortable having a waistband riding high, or maybe they are simply bored of depilating. La Rocca made a pair of frilled swim bloomers for a friend: “I designed them to cover up her pubic hair because having full growth was a bit unaccepted when she was in Italy.” You can now find these notso-briefs on her website – possibly the cutest swim shorts out there.
Whether it’s for the fashion, practicality or comfort angle, big knicker styles are gaining a following. “People don’t want to try them,” says La Rocca, “But once you wear a high waist it’s hard to go back to a low waist; it’s the comfort of extra coverage.”
Sophie Bidwill, co-owner of Thunderpants, the NZ-made underwear and swimwear label, says customers want the same from their swimwear as they get from their underwear. “Cut with enough fabric to cover every part of your bum and not ride up… The key thing is we are a design label not a fashion label – things come and go – but we’re interested in longterm style and comfort, ethically made from regenerated nylon.” The High Waist Swim Pant is by far their most popular bikini bottom and ranges in size from small to 3XL. “We sell them to everyone who likes good Kiwi coverage,” says Bidwell.
From a fashion point of view, a big bikini with a bit more fabric, allows extra room for expression. You can play with style, colour and print. And for plenty of different reasons, not least because it’s a bit like matching your mani to your pedi (ie. trad), the bottoms and tops need not match.
“When it comes to size there’s this idea that our bodies are either a small, medium or large,” says La Rocca. “But some people are small up top and large on the bottom, some are extra-large up top and extra small on the bottom.” Choose bikinis that are sold as separates and you can experiment. “Use brighter colours on the parts you want to stand out and darker colours on the bits you want to look smaller,” suggests La Rocca.
And then there’s the fun of playing with fashion. Look at Zimmerman’s 70s belted rib-skimming bikini bottoms with a sliced away top or Hakinakina’s 90s style tall bottoms and cropped vest top – the one I bought was the last one in my size, on sale (even better!) and 60s-inspired, complete with Pucci-esque print and structured top.
While some might find floss-style thong bikinis empowering, there’s something liberating about wearing what amounts to a sensible bikini, too. They’ve long been regarded as dull, practical and not famous for flattery (although these days, I’d argue that). “We’re all coming to understand that it doesn’t matter if you’re covering your arse completely or wanting to show it all off,” says La Rocca. “You do what you want to do and accept what other people are doing too.” Amen to that.